Charlotte
by TapTapAlways
Summary: Charlotte Lucas did not get married because of love. She got married because she was running out of time. Some good things came with her marriage, but the one good thing which would make it all Worth it, was not to be. Or was it? No... Companion piece to "Lizzy For Everyday and My Divine Goddess For Special Occasions" and "Lydia".
1. Chapter 1

_This is a small sidestory to my larger Pride and Prejudice arc (available on my profile, and the only P &P I've written, so really easy to find) and tells us the story of Charlotte Collins, born Lucas. Like Lydia's story, I have seen a lot of very hopeful stories. This, however, is a little bit of a "what if she didn't get all the advantages she thought she would get by accepting Collins". Charlotte wanted her own home, family and children, and not be an old maid. In this story, she only got the one. (The main ark is _not _this depressing. Only the sidestories.)_

 _TapTap_

Charlotte Collins was a sensible woman. She prided herself on it. She did not lose her mind when the pigs escaped (like her husband did), lose her patience when her husband rambled, nor did she lose her temper when Lady Catherine got too involved in _her_ private household affairs. Again. No, Charlotte Collins was a pillar of society, the priest's sensible wife.

Sensible, Moderate, quiet, dutiful. Got things sorted and done. Even Charlotte Collins, however, had her limits. Right now, for example, the woman who was once Miss Lucas was curled up on her bed in the fetal position. It should be safe enough: the servants knew not to bother her in here and her husband would still be gone for hours.

It was her time of the month. Unpleasant as that could be, that was not the real reason Charlotte was upset, of course. Rather, the _existance_ of said phenomenon, was the reason she was upset. And its cause. Mrs Collins was not pregnant. Again.


	2. Chapter 2

_So apparently in the books this doesn't work because Charlotte is pregnant? Well she is said to be, but since I am fairly grumpy in these interpretations already, so... I am not trusting Collins! On this or anything else._

 _TapTap_

Sometimes Mrs Collins thought that she was really starting to lose her patience with her husband _and_ his _Lady Catherine_. Charlotte knew well that arguing with her husband came to absolutely nothing. She was therefore absolutely aware that it was completely useless to argue with him about his spreading of rumours and his telling of tall tales.

It was bad enough that she had yet to grow in the family way, but his endless specualtion and rumourspreading made it almost unbearable. He had even started to tell tales, the one month that she were late, to his cousin Mr Bennet, making the false claim of her being in the family way reach her own family.

Such news were terrible, indeed, and made even worse by his overstating everything so awfully much. Indeed, Mr Collins made it seem like she was far along, and _she_ was the one who had to tell everyone else she was not yet with child to clear up his lies.

Sometimes, Charlotte really hated this man she was bound to by necessity.

This was only one of the reasons why Charlotte was in her own sitting room as Mr Collins had the news of his (dear, as he said in his flourishing way) cousin's death, forcing him to come find her to share these news, news she found distressing, but about which he was inappropriately gleeful.

It was up to Charlotte, to reign her husband in and make him behave suitably instead of rushing things he really ought to be graceful about, but she did so patiently, for Elizza's sake.

It was amost fitting, in her mind, when he insisted to ride across the grounds on the eve of their arrival, overcome with the pride he so prided himself on not possessing that he did not heed her advice to wait for the light of morning, and so when said light arrived, had not returned. Maybe Charlotte would not have been so harsh had she known of all the facts, but then again, that was rather on account of her being graceful, rather than him being deserving.


	3. Chapter 3

Some people in the neighbourhood would later say that Longbourn had been cursed those few spring and summer months of that year, loosing two masters within a mere three months. Charlotte had not been saying anything, really, when they brought back her husband, fallen from his horse, choosing to merely act instead.

Charlotte had been rock solid through it all, moving back to Meryton and having to deal with the rumours of her lack of a child, then her husband's demise because he was such a supremely bad horseman. In the letters she exchanged with her best friend Elizza, a friend who rather regained all respect she'd been losing for Charlotte because of how she handled things, she shared her struggled but also her hope.

There was something about Charlotte as the widdowed misstress of Longbourn. Somehow, she truly came into her own during those distressing months, and by the time when autumn came, she was a changed woman in all the best ways.

She kept the estate running well on her own, and as the years started to pass, like they always do, it became the norm as if Longbourn had always had a mistress and no master.

Elizabeth would have said that Charlotte seemed content enough, but that there was something clearly missing for her friend.

This something would arrive on a quiet day in town, when a retired redcoat looked to Meryton for an occupation. Elizabeth never heard the details of how Charlotte actually met the man, but she did hear of his romantic nature and the flutter in her friend's chest that Elizabeth could easily recognise herself, but Charlotte had never felt before.

None of the sisters Bennet would have thought they would ever return to Longbourn, certainly not for such a reason, but four of them, as well as one former Miss Darcy, was there in attendance as Charlotte married for the second time.

She was happy, but more than that, she was also revenged, because within a year of this marriage, she gave birth to her first daughter. For all that she might have been blamed before, it was Collins who _was_ to blame, and Charlotte raised seven children at Longbourn, with her loving new husband, with whom she had actually found love at last. It might not always be, but sometimes? Happy ever after is actually the truth.

 _This is the end of this mini-exploration about Charlotte. I hope you have all enjoyed it, as well as the other two pieces of the series. Thank you all for reading, and a special thank you to all of my reviewers!_

 _TapTap_


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